I am suffering from a lot of divorce thoughts lately, which come to me without my will or intention and due to these thoughts I find myself repeating just the word ‘divorce’ and just the word ‘divorced’ silently without any intention of divorce. Would that count as a divorce? I have no intention of any divorce.
At times my mouth is open but there are no spoken words but the the thought is running through my head and my tongue is moving. If the mouth is open and the tongue is moving, would that count, or if the word is running on the tongue but there is no spoken/verbal speech, would that count?This happens to myself while driving or even taking a shower when i am alone.
Please note that all this happens without any intention. I have no intention to issue or execute any divorce. I have told my brother about three weeks ago that I am getting thoughts without my will and also have told him I have no intention of divorce(as a witness). I have also told my brother to tell his wife about this situation so she too could be my witness. But I havnt told my brother’s wife directly. But could you tell me that if I hadn’t told my brother and because of these thoughts I find myself repeating just the word ‘divorce’ and just the word ‘divorced’ silently without any intention of divorce. Would that count as a divorce? I have no intention of any divorce.
If the thought and intention is in the head and someone verbally says ‘yes’ to it, would that count as divorce? The thought/intention has not been uttered verbally.
Also if Someone says the whole sentence and when he gets to the divorced word, he happens to just say the sound of the first letter “d (da)” from divorced e.g. “you are d (da) and quickly stops. Would that count as a divorce?
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
1. Repeating the words “divorce” or “divorced” silently without the intention of divorcing ones wife will not constitute a Shar’i divorce.
(Al-Bahr al-Raiq, vol 3, pg 253, Rasheediyya / Fatawaa Darul Uloom Deoband, vol 9, pg 198-199, Dar Al-Isha’at)
2. The mere thought of divorce crossing the mind without verbal utterance does not constitute a Shar’i divorce.
(Radd Al-Muhtar, vol 3, pg 230, HM Sa’eed / Fatawaa Al-Mahmudiyya, vol 12, pg 249, Faruqiyya / Hashiyya Al-Tahtawi, pg 219, Ilmiyya)
3. The statement “you are‘d’ (da)” does not constitute a Shar’i divorce.
(Al-Bahr al-Raiq, vol 3, pg 255, Rasheediyya)
It seems that you are experiencing waswasah (imaginary whispers) regarding divorce. We advice that you make two people your witness regarding your condition and mention to them that you do not intend divorcing your wife. If perhaps you utter a statement of divorce, the divorce will not be effective.
(Al-Fatawaa al-Hindiyya, vol 1, pg 357, Rasheediyya)
فلو قال طالق فقيل له من عنيت فقال امرأتي طلقت امرأته (البحر الرائق)
وبه ظهر أن من تشاجر مع زوجته فأعطاها ثلاثة أحجار ينوي الطلاق ولم يذكر لفظا لا صريحا ولا كناية لا يقع عليه كما أفتى به الخير الرملي وغيره (رد المحتار)
حتى لو أجرى الطلاق على قلبه وحرك لسانه من غير تلفظ يسمع لا يقع وإن صحح الحروف (مراقى الفلاح)
وإن حذف اللام فقط فقال أنت طاق لا يقع وإن نوى ولو حذف اللام والقاف بأن قال أنت طا وسكت أو أخذ انسان فمه لا يقع وإن نوى لأن العادة ما جرت بحذف حرفين من آخر الكلام (البحر الرائق)
هاهنا خمسة ألفاظ تلاق وتلاغ وطلاغ وطلاك وتلاك عن الشيخ الإمام الجليل أبي بكر محمد بن الفضل رحمه الله تعالى أنه يقع وإن تعمد وقصد أن لا يقع ولا يصدق قضاء ويصدق ديانة إلا إذا أشهد قبل أن يتلفظ به وقال إن امرأتي تطلب مني الطلاق ولا ينبغي لي أن أطلقها فأتلفظ بها قطعا لقيلها وتلفظ بها وشهدوا بذلك عند الحاكم لا يحكم بالطلاق بينهما (الفتاوى الهندية)
And Allah knows best
Wassalam
Ml. Talha Desai,
Student Darul Iftaa
Checked and Approved by:
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In’aamiyyah